It has come to light that violent criminals at the Mitchells Plain, Stellenbosch, Malmesbury, Bluedowns and Belville regional courts now receive free bail because the Department of Justice is not paying court interpreters. When the criminals’ cases cannot continue, it gets temporarily removed from the court roll as they must have a swift and fair trial, after which the offenders are released on free bail or simply freed.
Action Society is investigating the matter, as it is unacceptable for victims to suffer because of the department’s inadequacy.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that criminals have more rights than law-abiding citizens in this country,” says the Director of Community Safety at Action Society, Ian Cameron. “Courts respect the rights of criminals to a swift trial, but victims and their families are not afforded the same rights. They must wait years to see progress and justice in their cases.
“The justice department, and in fact the entire criminal justice system, is collapsing to the detriment of victims and the benefit of violent criminals.”
Action Society will also investigate the impact of technology failure in courts on the progress of court proceedings as witnessed firsthand.
“South Africa is indeed a wonderful place for criminals. If you wait it out, you will probably be released on bail to continue your violent criminal acts. If you have to spend some time in prison, you will have access to all forms of technology, like cellphones, to keep up with your social media accounts and lounge about,” said Cameron.
